1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to calculating and presenting compensation information for one or more jobs.
2. Background of the Invention
Similar to a commodity that is dictated by supply and demand of the marketplace, a person's service is perceived along similar values. For example, is the person's skill is in high demand such that it is difficult to recruit people with such skills? What is a reasonable compensation level for a person with a particular skill at a particular region? Does the person's current salary make the person susceptible to being scouted by another company?
A salary that a person receives for their services rendered is extremely important to that person because it directly affects the person's livelihood. If the person believes that their services rendered are more valuable than what is being compensated, there is likelihood that the person will seek a job elsewhere. However, salary information is not readily available making it difficult for a current or potential employer or employee to determine what is a reasonable level of compensation.
Previously, an employee or potential job seeker could receive salary information from job advertisements or from articles contained in a newspaper or magazine. However, salaries obtained from job advertisements are usually a perceived value of a potential employer based on their own circumstances and not necessarily what the market perceives as a reasonable salary. Concerning salary data contained in newspapers and magazines, they may be outdated as of the time of publication or may not be collected nor analyzed methodically. Thus, they do not reflect a true compensation level. Furthermore, this information may not be particular to the employee or job seeker's situation, thus may not be useful information.
From an employer's point of view, not knowing compensation levels of various positions in the company may be problematic. If the employees perceive that they are being underpaid, the employees may leave before the company can react to the compensation demands. Furthermore, without knowing a value placed on a skill in the marketplace, it is difficult for a employer to form a compensation package to entice people with those skills. Some employers have avoided making this decision by placing the onus on the potential employee to inform them as to what a reasonable salary should be. Others have relied on consulting firms to provide them with market salary information on various positions within the company. However, consulting fees are extremely expensive and the employer may not be able to obtain that information on a need basis. Further, such information is not available to an average person seeking a job.